Academy 1/72 TBF-1 Avenger

The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps and also eventually used by several air and naval aviation services around the world.

The Avenger entered U.S. service in 1942 and first saw action during the Battle of Midway. Despite the loss of five of the six Avengers on its combat debut, it survived in service to become a most effective submarine killer and most widely used torpedo bomber of World War II, sharing credit for sinking the super-battleships Yamato and Musashi and being credited for sinking 30 submarines. Greatly modified after the war, it remained in use until the 1960s.

Academy came in 1987 with its “new tool” 1/72 Avenger, which has been regularly reboxed ever since, even by Doyusha in 2023. The specific copy is the 2019 edition and was a gift from my good Polish friend Bernard Sobczyk. It comes in a medium (towards small) sized, rectangular, top opening, good quality box, carrying a very attractive box art of #301 machine, assigned to  VT-84, USS Bunker Hill, releasing a torpedo towards presumably BB Yamato in 1945.

Upon opening the box, I was greeted by 43 light gray styrene parts, molded in four roughly equally sized sprues. Upon sprues layout examination and after some research, it becomes apparent that this is a rework of the 1973 FROG mold. In fact, both molds are identical, save the panel lines, which are finely recessed in the Academy offering.

Molding is relatively crisp with minimal flash.I noticed a few ejector pin marks here and there, with most of them hidden upon model completion. A couple of not that hard to tackle sink marks were also observed on the opposite sides of areas where the plastic was thick (like the landing gear attachment points in the wing innards).

The interior is Spartan, simplistic and generic, as was in the original FROG offering. Some aftermarket enhancement would be very welcome there, as the interior will be very visible through the greenhouse canopy.  An average pilot figure is also included, but no navigator/bomber and gunner. Landing gear is average, with no detail in the wheel wells. There’s a wheels-up option, for which special thin wheel-door parts are provided; a nice touch. The engine is one piece with the front cowling lip and also average looking. Prop looks good. A handy base is also provided.

Clear parts are thick, but otherwise well done. Instructions come in the form of a four page leaflet, with the construction spread in five followable steps. Some generic color callouts are provided through the build, so you have to do some not that difficult research for all internal colors.

Only one scheme is provided, for the box art’s #301 machine, assigned to  VT-84, USS Bunker Hill in 1945, painted in dark/intermediate blue over white. Colors are given in generic form, but it will not be too hard to find equivalents from your favorite brand. Decals are well printed and should work well.

Instructions want you to first assemble the interior, the landing gear and engine. The next step is a quite dense one, where you have to assemble the rear turret, attach the rear side windows, cut out the marked areas if you want to attach the base and finally trap the cockpit and rear turret between the fuselage halves. Next is attaching the engine, wings, horizontal stabilizers, landing gear, canopy and crew hatch, ending a simple build.

Essentially an improved version of the FROG mold (which leans toward the simplistic side) and though there are newer and/or more detailed opinions, this is a decent kit of the Avenger. Offered at a low price, it stands as a simple, unpretentious kit, promising an uncomplex build.

Happy Modeling!

 Spiros Pendedekas

October 2025

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